The Mutual Fund
industry as a whole has undergone several changes recently.
Sreenivas Reddy from
The Mutual Fund Guide spoke to Mr. Kartik Soral, Fund Manager of Shriram Mutual
Fund on a number of topics from investor worries, their balanced advantage fund,
the role of advisors, etc.
Q) What would be
your advice to investors looking at the current market scenario?
A) In our opinion, an investor should invest as per his/her risk
profile which is a function of investor’s age, return expectation, duration of
investment, taxation requirement, etc. However, having said that, we expect
equity markets to be reasonably volatile over next 1-2 years and believe Equity
funds that offer safety of debt accruals, arbitrage and dynamic equity
allocations like Balanced Advantage Funds may be better off during such time
period.
Q) What is your
outlook on the Indian economy and equity markets at the moment?
A) While Indian economy has been one of the fastest growing
economies in the world, we believe, the growth has been quite disappointing in
comparison to its potential. The private sector is struggling to deleverage
itself from last upcycle and majority of the banks are struggling with
bad-debts.
In such a scenario, having a
strong and committed government at the center has provided some respite but
this has not been enough as corporate earnings continue to suffer and domestic
demand is trending downwards.
Q) What would you
advice investors looking to stop their SIP’s due to struggling markets?
A) No. We believe, investors should not try to time the market and
make buy/sell decisions in an attempt to follow a trend. An investor should
only stop SIPs or redeem funds when they need money for some other purpose.
Q) What sectors do you see picking up pace in the near
future?
A) We like
infrastructure and domestic consumption oriented companies from near term
perspective.
Q) Tell us a bit
more about your recently launched Shriram Balanced Advantage Fund
A) Shriram Balanced Advantage fund attempts to reduce volatility
without significantly impacting long term returns for the investors.
The fund
utilizes a combination of dynamic equity allocation, arbitrage and debt
strategies to achieve the same.
The net equity exposure in the
fund is varied according to three factors – market valuations, interest rates
and market internals – to move between a low of 20% to a high of 80% giving
investors a lower downside risk and a higher upside participation.
Q) How important
according to you is the role of Advisors in an Investor’s mutual fund
portfolio?
A) An Advisor is a specialist who has the benefit from multiple
standpoints: Advisor understands markets and is up-to-date with the latest
developments in economy and markets; Further, a seasoned Advisor has seen many
up and down cycles to suitably guide the investor in both periods.
An advisor has met or advices
many clients and knows the common behavior fallacies that an investor will be
subject to.
And finally, an Advisor can be
objective in times when most investors may panic or be euphoric.
This is why we believe, role of
the Advisor in an investor’s MF portfolio is supremely important.
Disclaimer : While due precaution has been undertaken in the preparation of this article, The Mutual Fund Guide or any of its authors will not be held liable for any investments based on the above article. The above article should not be considered financial advice and has been published only for your perusal. Due credit has been given in case wherever required, in case you feel any part violates any rights then do get in touch with us and we shall get it duly removed.
Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read the offer document carefully before investing
Copyright © 2019 The Mutual Fund Guide, All rights reserved.
